A Simple Polymerase Chain Reaction-based Method for the Discrimination of Three Chicken Breeds

A large number of branded chicken products exist in Japan, and in some cases, the breed of chicken is an important factor used to attract consumer interest in the retail product. In order to establish a simple method for verifying such breed claims we applied the amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) technique to nine chicken breeds (White Cornish, Red Cornish, White Plymouth Rock, New Hampshire, Rhode Island Red, Barred Plymouth Rock, Hinaidori, Tosajidori, Tsushimajidori) to search for molecular markers able to discriminate chicken breeds. Three breed-specific single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) were identified, one for each of Hinaidori, Tosajidori, or New Hampshire. A total of 219 individuals from the nine breeds were analyzed using a specific PCR test for each of these SNP. The PCR tests made it possible to discriminate between the breeds of chickens to identify products from these three breeds. This PCR method provides an efficient method for the routine analysis and verification of certified chicken products.